


Goodness Is With You

by lmc291



Series: Every Step I Ran to You [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Adoption, Families of Choice, Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kakashi isn't the only one who had a meaningful relationship with Minato and Kushina, Self-Indulgent, child-Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28489584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lmc291/pseuds/lmc291
Summary: The old lady muttered something in a stage whisper that was meant to be heard.Mei stopped cold in her tracks, and Genma was surprised by the stuttered, faint crackling he could sense emanating from under her skin. Nothing in her file said she was able to access what little chakra she had. “What did you say?” she hissed. From his place standing behind her shoulder, he pulsed his own chakra to alert the ANBU posted within response distance.
Series: Every Step I Ran to You [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1290356
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	Goodness Is With You

**Author's Note:**

> I recommend reading part 1 before this.

“How could you possibly have--- she’s foreign!”

“So she lacks prejudice.”

“She can’t be loyal. You would risk our greatest weapon--”

“You will desist calling the child a weapon in my presence. You know as well as I that she is a civilian. You recall both the medics and the interrogation squads proved she had amnesia when we found her. Her only loyalty is to us: the village that took her in from the cold. She owes her life and her freedom to Konoha. To me.”

Shiranui Genma was not eavesdropping. He absolutely was not eavesdropping on the heated conversation between the Sandaime and Councilman Shimura. It wasn’t his fault the men hadn’t activated the secrecy seals where his advanced senses could hear. In fact, if he were pressed to argue, he was the one summoned here in the first place. That they were clearly arguing about Minato and Kushina’s kid only piqued his interest.

He slouched down on the bench a little more and stretched his legs out in front of him-- a picture of repose. The Hokage meant for him to overhear this. There was no other explanation for him to be personally summoned in time to hear something conveniently not hidden by secrecy seals. And if it had to do with Naruto…

The office door swung open and Shimura stomped out, apparently not caring if anyone saw him in such a mood. Genma unfolded himself from his sitting position and stood to nod at the Elder. “Councilman.”

“Shiranui!” The Sandaime called from inside the office.

Genma ushered himself in and saluted the aging leader.

“Uzumaki Naruto was adopted earlier today.” Sarutobi Hiruzen wasted no time with pleasantries. 

“Councilman Shimura doesn’t seem too pleased about that,” Genma commented mildly.

The Hokage didn’t deign to respond and handed him a file instead. “I’ve told Naruto’s new guardian to expect someone this evening to walk her through a security assessment of her home.”

Genma skimmed the file on Satogo Mei. Huh. So she went through the orphanage system. (If you asked him, giving people a surname that identified them as a foster child was just setting them up for hardship, but no one ever did ask him). Twenty-four. Apartment in the Flower District. Work history: owner of a second-hand clothing shop and, hmm, Yamanaka Flowers. He turned the page expecting to see school records, or at the very least, immigration papers based on what he overheard. There was nothing. 

He looked up at the Hokage, but before he could voice the question on his lips, the older man pressed his finger to a secrecy seal and emitted a miniscule burst of chakra to activate it. “This file is incomplete,” he observed when the flare faded.

“This is an S-Class secret,” Sarutobi intoned, and Genma stood a little straighter. “Satogo Mei was found unconscious outside the village walls the day after the Kyuubi attack with no papers and no history. When she awoke, she had no name and no useful memories. Medics diagnosed the amnesia and it was confirmed by Yamanaka mindwalkers. I gave her a name, had her swear allegiance, and she spent her two years’ probation supervised by Yamanaka Inoichi.”

The jounin whistled. Probation personally supervised by Inoichi? It spoke a lot to the potential unknown threat as well as the certainty that none was found if she was now Naruto’s guardian. “Civilian, I’m sure,” he mused. 

“Indeed,” Sarutobi confirmed. “I need you to ensure her home is secure from both civilian and shinobi threats. I don’t need to impress upon you the importance of Naruto’s security.”

“Why her?” The question was eating at Genma. “You rejected Uchiha Mikoto’s request and she was Naruto’s godmother.” The two women remained best friends even as the relationship between the Uchiha and the village deteriorated.

“You know the reasons he couldn’t go to that family. It would have upended village stability and the other clans would have been up in arms.” Pursing his lips like he was sucking something sour, Sarutobi continued, “It was pointed out that a landlady wasn’t suitable supervision.” Genma successfully resisted the urge to let it show on his face that he agreed. “And they formed a bond before any intervention could be done. Naruto will never obey an order prohibiting contact, and she can’t be eliminated.”

Genma hummed an acknowledgement-- assassination was his specialty after all. Any sudden absence of hers would be noticed, especially if Inoichi maintained contact. “Mission parameters?” he asked while scanning the paperwork again.

“Ensure her home is safe.”

He stared at the Hokage, waiting for additional instructions. There were none. He swapped the intelligence file with the mission scroll and waited a beat, debating with himself whether or not to ask the question. “Does Kakashi know?”

The look he received in return was enough of a dismissal that he snapped a salute and made himself scarce. Genma tucked the scroll into his vest as he considered it. More than likely, Kakashi was out of the village. No one had seen him in weeks and the biggest clue to his absence was that even Gai hadn’t seen him. He made a mental note to let the man know in case he saw Kakashi first.

Spirits only knew what sort of reaction Kakashi would have if he showed up to lurk at Naruto’s building and found him missing.

“They mentioned going to the Ichiraku stand when they were leaving,” the chuunin at the desk told him. Genma gave a casual gesture in thanks. She was a chuuning in rank only, like so many high skill shinobi in the village. Jounin get noticed. Spies watch them. Enemies put them in Bingo Books. Chuunin can be unremarkable. But he knew: she wasn’t the visible guard for nothing.

He used the time walking through the halls of the tower strategizing how to secure Satogo’s home. Standard protocol would be seals. He knew of a handful that could be armed and disarmed by someone with minimal chakra that could work. Of course, they were highly classified and inaccessible to the civilian population. 

Naruto’s ANBU guard rotation would remain. He was still the heir of a Hokage after all. Offhand, he couldn’t think of anyone he knew who lived in the Flower District, but he could probably find someone-- chuunin or tokujo if he was lucky-- who was sympathetic to Naruto’s wellbeing and also looking to move out of the general barracks into a place near Satogo’s. A friendly neighbor could be very useful.

Genma’s path to Ichiraku was casual in a way that seemed meandering. If pressed to explain why he was being so cautious in his own village, he would say that his top priority was Naruto’s safety, and based on the conversation he overheard, he wouldn’t put it past Councilman Shimura to have one of his servants watching him. Minato’s child deserved better than to be a political pawn even if he was the current jinchuuriki.

He was fortunate: they were still eating their meal when he finally arrived at the ramen stand. And based on the amount of gusto Naruto was eating with, it seemed like they were still early in their meal. He had plenty of time to observe them, then. Good.

He sat down at the far end of the counter from them and quietly ordered the tonkotsu, grateful that it was close enough to the evening mealtime that he didn’t feel like he was forcing the food down. 

Naruto, it seemed, was trying inhumanly hard to not inhale his ramen. Every time he picked up the pace, his eyes would dart over to his new guardian. She’d give him a _look_ , and he’d sheepishly slow down. At some point during Naruto’s-- third?-- bowl (still Genma’s first), the proprietor’s daughter beckoned Naruto to the back with her.

Naruto hopped off the stool then paused, as if remembering something he’d seen other children do. “M-- can I?”

Satogo’s eyes darted between Naruto and the girl and seemed to come to the conclusion that they knew each other well. She nodded and Naruto disappeared into the back.

Genma kept eating, working hard to appear as if he was minding his own business.

“You’ve been watching us all evening.” Satogo didn’t yell, but she pitched her voice just enough to carry over to him. Her voice was husky-- lower than her appearance suggested. Then again he should know better than to assume that a feminine yutaka meant anything.

Caught. Genma finished the rest of his spoonful of broth before answering. “Shiranui Genma,” he introduced himself, nodding at her. 

“Satogo Mei, but I think you already know that.” Curiouser and curiouser. He could appreciate the shrewdness in her eyes. Many civilian women were docile creatures, and timid when faced by shinobi.

He reached into his vest to remove the mission scroll, and did not miss how her eyes tracked his movements. Suspicious thing, wasn’t she? Good. Waving the scroll slightly in the air, Genma offered it in her direction. She looked at it for a moment then moved a few stools over to accept it. 

Her eyes scanned it quickly, and a little furrow appeared between her eyebrows. “And this can be done practically?” she asked. “I’m not a shinobi.”

“There are ways,” he allowed, “which can be discussed at your home.”

She read over it a second time, more slowly. “Do you have time? Naruto and I were planning to pick up a few personal items from his apartment before we return home,” she said the word apartment like it was some foul thing she stepped in. “Extra hands might be useful.”

“Sure.” His time for the evening was spoken for. Whatever needed to be done to complete the mission, he would do.

“Look, look!” Naruto came barrelling out of the back of the stand waving a piece of paper. “Ayame-nee made this for me at her school!”

Genma watched as Naruto all but shoved the paper at Satogo and he angled his head to get a better look at it. He was impressed. The watercolor painting was quite accurate in its portrayal of the exterior of her father’s stand.

“Oh, it’s lovely!” Satogo praised, looking at Ayame. “You’re very talented.”

The girl, who couldn’t have been more than fresh-genin age, blushed. “Thank you.”

“Now I can have Ichiraku even at home!” Naruto crowed. “Can I hang it on my--- eh, who are you?” He squinted up at Genma. 

“Naruto!”

“...Sorry.”

“Shiranui-san will be helping us get some things from your apartment,” Satogo explained.

Naruto fixed him with a stink-eye. Genma raised an eyebrow at the kid. It was cute, honestly. Like a kitten trying to assert dominance over a tiger. But that face.... His heart twisted. That was Kushina’s face. How many times had he seen her make that exact same expression?

The kid seemed to decide something (who knew-- he’s seven), and nodded his head firmly. “Okay, you can come with us.”

A laugh escaped him before he could stifle it. “Glad I pass muster, kid.” Kushina through and through, no doubt about it.

They settled their bills with the shop proprietor and wound their way through the streets towards Naruto’s apartment. Naruto had early on latched himself to Satogo’s hand, clearly relishing in the fact that he suddenly had a hand he was allowed to hold. Genma watched as Satogo’s eyes darted around the streets, watching the faces of other civilians as they walked passed. Her forehead creased a little bit when she realized they were averting their eyes. After a moment or two, she slid her gaze over to him.

Genma knew what she was silently asking and answered it with a slight shrug of his head. Yeah, he was the reason no one was saying anything about Naruto. The headband and flak vest were good for more than one thing. He circulated his chakra a little bit and people on the street gave them an even wider berth. It wasn’t Killing Intent-- it was against regs to use that against Konoha civilians, but it did enhance an aura of danger that he already cultivated in his being.

Kakashi didn’t have the monopoly of not wanting to be bothered on the street. Genma was just less awkward about it.

Naruto was a chatty kid. He rattled off questions a mile a minute, intent to get the most out of what was probably the first real conversation with a shinobi willing to take the time to answer him.

(“I’m gonna be Hokage! You better believe it! I’m gonna be the best, most strongest Hokage there’s ever been!”)

Genma’s heart twinged again at that. He answered what he could, trying to manage Naruto’s expectations. Shinobi life wasn’t all rescuing princesses and fighting pirates to win their treasure. But the kid was young, and he didn’t want to totally shatter his dreams. He might be a realist, but he wasn’t a buzzkill.

Satogo gave Naruto a fond look. “Maybe we should give Shiranui-san a minute to catch his breath?”

“But m-- why?” It sounded like he changed his whine from ‘mom’. Genma really hoped this adoption thing worked out. Naruto needed a good thing in his life.

“Well for one,” she dropped Genma a wink, “we’re almost there.”

Naruto’s whole demeanor flipped like a lightswitch. He chewed his lower lip in a way that made Genma’s hackles raise. He’d find who caused this reaction in Minato’s child. And he’d bring Kakashi with him.

The landlady was standing in her own doorway and Satogo sighed, like she was hoping to avoid contact. Given the look on the woman’s face, Genma could figure why. They didn’t say anything and didn’t acknowledge her in any other way, and he hoped it was enough to avoid a confrontation.

The old lady muttered something in a stage whisper that was meant to be heard.

Satogo stopped cold in her tracks, and Genma was surprised by the stuttered, faint crackling he could sense emanating from under her skin. Nothing in her file said she was able to access what little chakra she had. “What did you say?” she hissed. From his place standing behind her shoulder, he pulsed his own chakra to alert the ANBU posted within response distance.

They all heard what she said. Naruto was hunched over in a way that suggests he’s heard it before, and Genma decided that no matter what he had to do to make it happen, he’d be part of the kid’s life. Satogo looked like an angry cat, and he’s barely able to keep his Mission Face in place. He wondered, absently, if she would dare say those words again.

She did. The landlady drew herself up, defiant. “That monster should be grateful to have a roof over its head!”

“How _dare_ you?” Satogo’s voice cracked in indignation. “He is a _child_ , you-- you--” She broke off in a screech of frustration. Genma watched as she struggled to contain her anger. She looked like she wanted to rant and rave and scream in the woman’s face that she was a spiteful old hag who shouldn’t even be responsible for looking after a goldfish, let alone a child.

Maybe Genma was editorializing. Projecting his own feelings, even. There was a lot he wanted to do to the landlady that was forbidden by village law.

(There was a lot he _could_ do before he reached that point, but, alas, ethics.)

He watched as she took a deep breath to collect herself, likely reminding herself that she had to set a good example to a child he suspected was half-feral by this point. “Come on,” he urged. “Let’s go upstairs.” The sooner they moved, the sooner his ANBU colleagues could move in and handle things here.

They finally made it inside, and Naruto excused himself to use the bathroom. When the door clicked shut, Satogo let out a shaky breath. He imagined her adrenaline was still rushing. She rubbed at her face, trying to collect herself.

“You’re doing a good thing.”

She looked at him. “He’s a _child_. How could--” she was working herself up again and took another deep breath to reign it in. “How could anyone say that to a child?”

He pressed his lips together, unable to say anything about it. “Some people,” he paused, “some people let things cloud their judgments.”

Her eyes snapped to his, and searched his face for something. He didn’t know what, but she pursed her lips and nodded, like he confirmed something she already decided on her own. Satogo didn’t ask him to clarify, and he was impressed by her discretion.

“Not many people would or could offer what you are,” he continued. “Naruto deserves a good home, and I think you can provide him with that.” He eyeballed the mold on the wall with distaste.

“You don’t know me.”

“I read your file.”

“A file is just a piece of paper,” she countered at him.

“You managed to convince the Hokage to go along with this, and Yamanaka Inoichi trusts you.” How would she respond to that?

She looked away with a wistful expression on her face. “Inoichi is a good man. He gave me my start.”

There was a story there that neither her file nor the Hokage said. “Why did he take a chance on you?”

She looked at him and a smile played around her lips. “Maybe he liked my work ethic and rudimentary knowledge of botany.”

He laughed, surprised. She could deflect a classified answer with a joke. And she either knew or had the good sense to guess that the answer was classified to begin with.

The toilet flushed in the background and they suppressed their smiles to get back to the business at hand.

When Naruto turned the corner, Genma asked him, “Hey do you want to see something cool?”

At Naruto’s enthusiastic nod, Genma drew a scroll and a brush from his pack. “Okay, what do you want to bring with you?”

The star-eyes Naruto gave him when his belongings poofed and disappeared into his storage scroll was worth the squawk of dismay when he started inking his possessions. He glanced over at Satogo and took in her stupefied look with only a little internal preening. He could still be impressive when he wanted to be.

“That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life!” Naruto exclaimed loudly enough that his former landlady probably heard it.

“You know,” she eventually said when she caught the look on his face. “I might be moving houses in the near future. Any chance I can rope you into helping?” She tried to keep a straight face at her request.

“Is that all I’m worth to you?” He joked. “Irresponsible sealing?”

Her laugh included a little snort that had Naruto doubled over at how unfeminine it was. She knew he was teasing so he let her off the hook. “I could be convinced.”

Satogo raised an eyebrow at him. Interesting.

He felt the ANBU squad pulse a code that told him they had taken care of the landlady. Good. She broke the Hokage’s law and would be spending quality time in confinement for it. “Alright.” He brushed his hands against his pants. “Do you have everything you want?”

Naruto looked around. “I have everything. Am… I’m not coming back here, right?” He was hesitant when he asked that. 

“No, kiddo, you’re not coming back.” Satogo rubbed the top of his head.

“Then we can go,” Naruto declared.

Genma gestured that they should exit the apartment in front of him. “Your landlady shouldn’t be a problem on our way out.”

Naruto, who had clutched Satogo’s hand for just the eventuality of running into the old lady, nodded. “Good. She’s _awful_.”

“C’mon,” Genma helped usher them out of the building. “We have to get this stuff home, and then there are a few other things to do.”

Naruto looked up at Satogo. “Can… Can we do a piggy-back? Like earlier?”

She squatted down so he could clamber up. “Today’s a special day. C’mon, get on!”

Naruto raised a fist into the air. “Let’s go!”

The two adults exchanged an amused glance before making their way back towards the village center.


End file.
